As the sky dimmed, a dog-drawn sledge drove out of Baiqiao Village and headed towards the depths of Baekdu Mountain.
The gray-haired old man on the driver's seat cracked his whip, causing snowflakes to fall from the trees.
There were four people sitting in the car, wearing fur hats and thick cotton jackets. There were knives, guns, bows and arrows and other weapons around them, as well as bags full of food.
They were Zhou Paotou, Zhao Lin, Zhu Dachun and Liang Song who went into the mountains to hunt Xiong Zong.
"Zhou Paotou, the snow hasn't melted yet, why are you in such a hurry to go into the mountain?"
asked the old man driving the car.
The old village head was also a hunter. Because he was too old to hunt, he kept more than a dozen local dogs and used sledges to send people up and down the mountain in winter to earn money for running errands.
Zhou Paotou asked him to send a few people into the mountain to save them from spending energy on the long journey.
"Beat the kids on a rainy day. It's just free time. Go into the mountains and try your luck." Zhou Paotou said casually.
The old village head looked back and said, "You're not still thinking about that bear, are you?"
Zhou Paotou laughed, "I stopped thinking about it a long time ago. I haven't seen that beast for several years. He might have died of old age."
Zhao Lin listened to the two chatting, and the scene when he said goodbye to his parents this morning flashed in his mind.
"Father, mother, my brother's affairs are about to be settled. I'm staying in the city for the past two days to facilitate my connections. I won't be back tonight..."
His parents believed him and told him to come back early.
"Don't worry, our family will be reunited soon!"
Zhao Lin regretted saying that at that time. He felt like he was raising a flag. Anyone who said such things in the movie would not end well.
"Just here, the old man doesn't dare to go in."
After nearly two hours of snow sledge walking, the old man pulled the reins, and the dogs lay on the snow and stuck out their tongues, blowing hot breath from their mouths.
Zhao Lin looked up and saw a mountain dozens of meters high in front of him, shaped like a bird preening its feathers.
He had heard of this place, called Laoyu Ridge.
To the north of Laoyu Ridge is the hinterland of Baekdu Mountain, where there are real deep mountains and old forests, where strange beasts roam freely.
Only a handful of experienced old hunters who have explored several relatively safe paths over the years dare to hunt occasionally.
"Thank you, Lao Zhuang."
Zhao Lin and others took their things and plowed into the snow. Zhou Paotou took out a small handful of copper coins from his pocket and gave them to Lao Zhuangtou.
The old man counted the money in his hand, his face turned into a chrysanthemum smile, "Will you come to pick us up at this time tomorrow?"
"Yes, we'll have to wait one more day if we don't come."
The old Zhuangtou blinked, "Zhou Paotou, don't blame the old man for saying something unlucky. What if we still don't come after a day?"
"Wait for two days at most. If you haven't seen anyone for two days, you don't have to wait." Zhou Paotou said in a normal tone.
The leader of Laozhuang was so experienced that he guessed the purpose of their trip without revealing it, and disappeared into the forest and snowy fields on a snow sledge.
"This path was passed down from my grandfather's generation. It's safe because you won't encounter strange animals."
Zhou Paotou led the way, Zhao Lin and others followed behind, bypassing Laoou Ridge and walking into a rough birch forest.
Different from the outside of the mountains, deep in the mountains there is a lot of snow, and except for the tall trees, everything is completely white.
Zhao Lin raised his head and glanced at the gloomy sky, thinking: "No wonder it is said that it is easy to get lost in the deep mountains and old forests. It is the same in all directions. If you are not familiar with it, it is easy to get trapped in it and not be able to get out."
The four people walked and carefully observed the surroundings. In addition to bears, there might be other beasts here.
Driving in the thick snow was very tiring. They stopped and walked all the way. About noon, they arrived at the foot of a small hill.
"Xiong Zongzi is squatting in the sky in that tree."
Zhou Paotou pointed at a tall and thick towering tree in the distance and said in a low voice.
After the snow falls in winter, the black bear, which has grown fat and strong after a whole autumn of eating and drinking, goes into tree holes and burrows to hibernate.
Commonly known as squatting. Hibernating in a tree hole is called squatting in the sky, and digging a hole in the ground to hibernate is called squatting in the ground.
The black bear is a strange beast, but its living habits are the same as those of ordinary black bears.
Before going into the mountains, Zhao Lin learned a lot about hunting knowledge, which Zhou Paotou and the others told him.
Zhao Lin looked intently and saw an oval-shaped crack in the middle of the branches of the giant tree more than ten meters above the ground.
"follow me."
Zhou Paotou said in a low voice, leading several people into an "underground nest".
Diwozi is a snow cave.
In order to facilitate the observation of Xiong Zan, Zhou Paotou dug it a few months ago.
The cave door of Diwozi is very small. When you go inside, you will find a space that is more than two meters long and wide. The ground is covered with withered grass and roe deer skin, and four people can squeeze in just enough.
Zhao Lin noticed a statue of a god embedded in the snow wall and asked, "What god is that?"
"Lord Mountain God, bless our hunters." Zhou Paotou took out the hot pancake from his arms and took a bite of it and muttered vaguely.
Zhao Lin looked at the image again and thought: "You'd better be effective, otherwise..."
Perhaps out of nervousness, the four of them said nothing and ate in silence.
After eating and resting for a while, each of them took out a sheet-sized white cloth from the package and covered the whole body from head to toe.
Before killing the warehouse, you must first confirm whether the bear is in the cave. Otherwise, it will be a lot of fun to compete with an empty warehouse for a long time.
The four people walked out of the nest one after another, slowly approached the giant tree, lay down about a hundred meters away, and crawled forward.
"Damn, why are there footprints on the ground!"
Zhou Paotou gestured to several people to stop advancing, and then wrote a line of words on the snow with his fingers.
Bears have sensitive hearing, and talking may wake them up. They can only communicate in this way.
Zhao Lin raised his upper body slightly and saw many two-bundle-long and one-bundle-wide footprints in the shape of bear paws scattered on the snow in front of him, extending all the way to the bottom of the giant tree.
The footprints were pointing in any direction, and it was hard to tell whether they were coming out or going in.
Looking up along the giant tree, I saw many claw marks on the tree. Judging from the damage to the bark, there were a few scratches that had just been scratched.
Zhao Lin also wrote on the snow with his finger: "There are new paw prints on the tree. Will squatting be over?"
Zhu Dachun shook his head and wrote: "No, the time has not come yet."
He didn't know much about literacy and only wrote six characters, two of which were replaced by circles.
Liang Song added for him: "If a bear is bored in the cave for a long time, he will come out for air, and then go back to continue squatting."
Zhao Lin frowned, wondering if it was at home now?
It's okay if you're at home, but if you're not at home and you go to check it out, what if you encounter it and come back?
Zhou Paotou let out a soft "shhh", attracting Zhao Lin and others to look over, and then wrote on the snow: "The bear will not leave the warehouse for more than half a day. We will wait here and we will know whether it is home soon!"
Zhao Lin and others thought the idea was good, so they lay quietly in the snow.
The mountain wind gradually picked up, and the snow dust blown up covered their bodies bit by bit, blending into the environment.
One hour passed, two hours passed, and the sky gradually darkened...
Just when Zhao Lin thought that Xiong Zhen must be squatting in the tree hole and sleeping, there was the sound of heavy footsteps behind him, as well as the "squeaking" sound of the snow being crushed.
coming!
Zhao Lin's heart was aroused. Judging from the footsteps, it was the bear who came.
Because the footsteps were heavy and soft, and there was a dragging sound - the bear's leg was seriously injured.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Zhao Lin held his breath and glanced at Zhou Paotou and the three of them, just like him, motionless like sculptures.
"Pfft!"
A big furry foot appeared in Zhao Lin's sight, followed by thick legs, a body as wide and thick as a door panel, shoulders like mountains...
The bear is more than three meters tall, several heads taller than the polar bear, the largest bear species in its previous life.
He is covered in jet black and shiny black hair, with roots as strong as iron.
Zhao Lin had imagined Xiong Zhen as a large black bear before, but after seeing it with his own eyes, he felt completely different. The powerful pressure was suffocating.
Xiong Zhen staggered to the foot of the giant tree, and was in a daze for a while. Then he climbed up the tree using his hands and feet, and crawled into the hole in the ground awkwardly.
After a while, a thunderous snoring sound came from the tree hole.
